Real Sociedad's Anoeta Stadium proved to be a formidable fortress once again, as Barcelona succumbed to a 1-0 defeat on Sunday.Flick's side were outplayed by a Real Sociedad team that delivered an outstanding performance and created numerous chances for a resounding victory.In contrast, the Blaugrana had one of their worst nights, barely posing a threat except for a few isolated instances.
For the first time this season, Barcelona failed to find the back of the net and for the first time in 10 seasons Barca failed to register a single shot on target.The Catalan giants' struggles were compounded by the late injury withdrawal of instrumental attacker Lamine Yamal, whose absence severely impacted the team's creativity.The 17-year-old attacker was ruled out before the match due to an injury, despite having traveled to San Sebastian with the rest of the Barcelona squad.The defeat on Sunday marks Flick's second defeat this season in La Liga with the first occurring on matchday eight against Osasuna, who triumphed with a convincing 4-2 victory.
And, interestingly, both defeats against Real Sociedad and Osasuna were the only matches where Yamal was not included in Flick's starting eleven.This shows clearly Barcelona are not the same without the teenage sensation.Hansi Flick's post-match assessment acknowledged the significance of Yamal's absence: "Of course, Lamine's absence is an influence on the result.
It was not our day.